


Christmas Eve

by bunnysworld



Series: Have a Camelot Christmas 2017 [14]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas Eve, M/M, Office
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-14
Updated: 2017-12-14
Packaged: 2019-02-14 15:42:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13010937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bunnysworld/pseuds/bunnysworld
Summary: Arthur should have gone home hours ago. Now he's stuck at the office. Alone.





	Christmas Eve

**Author's Note:**

> Have a Camelot Christmas 2017! Welcome to day 14. We're well on our way to Christmas and I love that you're still sticking around. Have fun with the latest addition to the advent calendar

Arthur closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. His eyes started burning a while ago from staring at the screen too long. It was eerily quiet at the office.

It had started snowing in the afternoon, so he had sent everyone home. He had smiled at the happy faces, but his smile had been fake. He could comprehend the joy of being able to leave three hours early to be with loved ones sooner on Christmas Eve. He had nowhere to go and no one to be with, so his heart was heavy. 

Deciding to ignore the fact that it was almost Christmas, Arthur had turned back to his work. This stuff didn’t do itself and if he could come back to an almost-clean desk after the holidays made it easier to concentrate on the things that came in then. 

It was almost 7 pm and Arthur swivelled around in his chair. Oh swell. The snow hadn’t left off and even if he decided he wanted to go home now, he wouldn’t be able to. There was a thick layer of white on everything and he didn’t see a single car or bus moving. The city had come to a stand-still. 

It wouldn’t be the first night he spent on his couch in the office. When Gwen had found him sleeping there one morning when she came in, she had sent for pillows and blankets and made sure that one shelf of his cabinets always held fresh towels and a set of sweatpants and hoodies. Arthur smiled. His PA knew him so well. 

While Arthur was watching the snow coming down, which he found rather soothing, his stomach growled. Of course, he had skipped lunch and since he usually just ordered food when he was stuck here, he had nothing to eat. Calling for a delivery was out of the question. No delivery service in their right mind sent people out into this storm. 

Sighing, Arthur got up and stretched. He had been sitting too long in this chair and felt all stiff. It wasn’t the first time he was the only one left in the building and as always, it was a bit creepy. He could sneak up to the cafeteria to see what they still had, but from former experience Arthur knew that they didn’t store left-overs and with the holidays, they wouldn’t have much fresh food in stock. He’d probably have to thaw a huge portion of something and then cook for himself. In the huge kitchen that was meant to provide meals for 1500 employees. There would be some candy and other junk food, yes, but he didn’t feel like stuffing himself with chocolate. 

Maybe someone had accidentally left their food in the fridge of the break-room on this floor? It was worth a shot. He would put a note on the fridge that he had taken it and of course reimburse them for it. This was an emergency and definitely not stealing. 

Kicking his shoes off and opening the first button of his shirt, Arthur padded out of his office, knowing he would find his way through the corridors that were just lit by the emergency exit signs. When he reached the break room, Arthur frowned. Someone had forgotten to clean out the coffee maker. Critically, he eyed the coffee and then decided that it had been in there for too long for him to drink now, so he opened one of the cabinets. Tea! That was probably a better idea than coffee anyway. 

While he waited for the water to boil, Arthur opened the fridge. He checked the best-before-date on a plastic jar with pasta salad and put it on the counter before he carefully reached for the plastic bag in the corner. 

“Err…”

Arthur spun around and stared. 

“I didn’t know someone else was still here.”

A tall blond stood in the doorway. A very tall blond. A very tall blond Arthur had never seen before. “Who are you?”

“Percy. Percival Smitherton. I only started the job at the beginning of the month.”

“I sent everyone home at around two.”

The man looked sheepish. “I just wanted to finish this one report but had to wait for numbers from the office in New York and when I looked up again, it was snowing so hard…”

Arthur nodded. “I know what you mean. It’s basically what happened to me. I don’t mind too much, I have nowhere to be.” He shrugged.

Percy laughed without humour. “Same here.”

Looking the man up and down, Arthur noticed that he was in sweatpants and a hoodie, which was definitely not what their dress code allowed.

“I wanted to go to the company gym after work. Thought I could as well get comfortable while I’m stuck here.” There was an endearing blush on Percy’s cheeks. “I didn’t think someone else was here or else…”

Arthur chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. I was just about to get changed into something similar.” Then he pointed at the fridge. “Is anything in there yours?”

“No, I usually don’t do that stuff.”

“You don’t do food?” 

Percy laughed and Arthur immediately liked the sound. “Oh, I do food, you wouldn’t believe how much I do food. I just don’t like the pre-packed stuff people bring in.” His stomach grumbled. “Unless it’s an emergency of course.”

“Looks like an emergency to me.” Arthur opened the fridge again. “Let’s see what we can do about it?”

A while later they sat in Arthur’s office. He had changed into his sweatpants/hoodie-combo, too, and they were lounging on the couches Arthur had there for visitors. Their dinner consisted of pre-packed sandwiches, the pasta salad Arthur had found, some baby carrots, a fruit bowl, half a cold pizza and some yoghurt. Percy had raided a co-workers desk and provided them with a plate of Christmas cookies and some water bottles he had stored in his own desk.

“Quite the Christmas dinner.”

“A lot better than anything I would have made at home.” Arthur said before he could catch himself.

Percy looked at him. “You know…to be honest, I was quite happy that I could finish that report. This way I didn’t have to go out there, into the hectic and hassle of Christmas Eve, looking into all these excited faces with everyone rushing to get to their loved ones…” His voice trailed off.

Arthur sighed and folded a foot underneath himself. He knew exactly what Percy meant and nodded. “Only to come back to a quiet, empty place with no one to talk to.” That was the part of the holidays he hated the most. All his friends were in happy relationships and this was the time of year where you didn’t butt in on their cosiness. You didn’t give them a call other than to wish them happy holidays and they tried to end the call as quickly as possible so it wouldn’t take away more time from their togetherness. Arthur had nobody and it seemed like Percy was in a similar situation. 

Getting up to stand by the window, Percy crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I’ve just moved here when I got the job. I didn’t leave anyone behind that I could go back to and I don’t have any friends in this city yet.”

Arthur got up to stand next to the tall man. It was still snowing and somehow it was soothing to watch the big flakes float down. “Maybe this weather isn’t too bad, then.”

“Huh?” Percy looked at him. 

“It forces us to not be alone on Christmas Eve, doesn’t it?” Arthur threw him a crooked smile. He didn’t know Percy at all, he hadn’t been there when he was interviewed, but he didn’t mind spending time with him like this.

“Or…at least to be alone together?” Percy offered.

“Better than alone-alone, isn’t it?” Arthur grinned and turned around again. “Put those cookies away. If they are on the coffee table all night, I’ll only eat all of them.” He made a face. “Which means I have to spend more time at the gym.”

Percy laughed. “What’s so bad about the gym?”

Arthur tried not to look at Percy’s arms that merely fit into the sleeves of the hoodie. “Let’s just say that I’m one of the people who go there because they have to in order to stay in shape, not because they really like it.”

“Maybe you just don’t have the right training partner…” Percy cleared his throat and took a step back. 

He hadn’t even noticed how close the tall man had come and took a step back himself. There were extraordinary circumstances. Which didn’t mean he could just flirt with an employee, this could mean trouble. “So…what should we do, now that we dined on all those delicious treats?”

Percy chuckled. “What would you do if I weren’t here?”

Feeling sorry for myself and working even more. “I don’t know. Watch something on TV and fall asleep doing so?”

“TV?” Percy threw him a look. “You have a TV in here?”

“Sure.” Arthur went to the other side of the room and opened a door that looked as if it was just part of the wood panelling of the wall to reveal a gigantic flat screen TV. “It’s meant for video conferences, but it’s great for watching footie, too.” He grinned.

Percy stared and then a huge smile made its way onto his face. “So that’s what you’re doing when we all think you’re working overtime.”

Arthur chuckled. “More than once I had to give away tickets because I was stuck here on Saturdays, so why not watch the game while working?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it that way. It isn’t my place to…”

“Hey, don’t worry. I think today, we’re past the employer/employee point. We’re just two blokes being stuck in this building for the night, okay?”

Slowly, Percy nodded and then caught the remote control Arthur tossed him.

“Find something you’d like to watch.” He turned and pulled two of the blankets out of the shelf where Gwen had put them, handing one to Percy.

“I doubt we’ll find a footie game now.” Percy sat down on the couch again and switched channels aimlessly. 

On a whim of inspiration, Arthur switched on the lights in the Christmas tree Gwen had forced on him. He had never done this before, thinking that a Christmas tree had no business in an office, but it gave off a nice unobtrusive light and if he were honest, she had outdone herself decorating it, so there was a bit of glitter and some sparkle, too. 

When he sat down in the far corner of the couch, putting his feet up and reaching for the blanket, Arthur knew there would be no going back to the employer/employee status. He watched Percy from the corner of his eyes and knew they shared something that was probably a bit more than just a night being stuck in the office. He couldn’t tell what exactly it was, but it felt good. 

“Do we need to watch a Christmas movie?” Percy asked. “I’m kind of sick of all the sweet happy endings-stuff.”

“Let’s find an action movie.” Arthur suggested before he snuggled back into his corner. He didn’t care what they were watching. That he wasn’t alone on Christmas Eve for the first time in years was the only thing that counted.


End file.
